References / paperMeckel's cartilage breakdown offers clues to mammalian middle ear evolution
Anthwal, N.; Urban, D.J.; Luo, Z.-X.; Sears, K.E.; Tucker, A.S.
Year2017
Source roleprimary-study
DOI / ID10.1038/s41559-017-0093
Fitness and scope
morphology · event-mechanism · methods
The experimental series compares c-Fos mutant mice with clast-cell inhibition in Monodelphis domestica; it tests cartilage-remodelling mechanisms rather than fossil ancestry.
Claim ledger
event-mechanism · mediumc-Fos mutant mice and clast-cell inhibition in Monodelphis show that blocking cartilage resorption can retain or ossify Meckel's cartilage and preserve a jaw–ear connection, but these living perturbations do not directly reveal the mechanism in any fossil.
claim:event:meckel-cartilage-clast-experiment